What happened
On 8 April 2011, a Piper PA-38-112 Tomahawk, registration G-OTFT, was involved in an accident at RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire. The aircraft was participating in a private flight. After taxiing to a refueling point near the control tower, the pilot reduced the engine power to idle but kept the engine running to protect the engine following startup.
The pilot then exited the cockpit to retrieve a headset from the control tower for the passenger. During this time, the passenger exited the aircraft. As the passenger moved toward the front of the wing to reach the control tower, their arm was struck by the propeller, which was still rotating at idle power. The incident resulted in one serious injury to the passenger, while the pilot remained uninjured.
The investigation
The AAIB investigation examined conflicting accounts from the pilot and the passenger regarding the safety briefing provided. The pilot stated that a briefing had been conducted, which included instructions on how to exit the aircraft and a specific route to follow. The pilot also noted that they had attempted to signal the passenger to shut down the engine by knocking on the windscreen when they saw the passenger stepping off the wing.
Conversely, the passenger, who was on their first light aircraft flight, stated they had not been instructed on how to exit the aircraft or which route to take to the tower. The passenger also reported that they did not believe the pilot had attempted to get their attention while they walked toward the front of the aircraft. The investigation was unable to reconcile these two versions of events.
Findings
- The accident was caused by the passenger stepping off the leading edge of the wing into the path of a rotating propeller.
- The engine was running at idle power at the time of the strike.
- There were discrepancies between the pilot's account of the safety briefing and the passenger's experience of it.
- The incident highlighted the extreme hazard posed by propellers, even when an engine is at idle power and the aircraft is stationary.